The Ref Stop

Getting Ready for 21/22

Spartan league fitness test passed this morning despite struggling with the change in weather. Horribly damp after 10 days of dry heat made my asthma flare up terribly. Not a vintage performance because of that, but I got through.

Ultimately that’s what matters today even if I physically feel rubbish now.

The weather on the day can have such an impact. I'd describe yesterday's conditions for my test as perfect. No wind, slight dampness in the air to keep you cool but not a cold day. I imagine anyone that made the time by 30 seconds or less may have struggled had the test been done in the previous weeks where its been 30 degrees?

Ultimately the time is a complete irrelevance other than maybe to measure your own fitness at the time (and if you've been reffing at level 4 and above for a number of years and you're above 35 it's probably an OK measure of where your fitness is at?). It only matters if you fail it and the retest where I am is in September so those who failed it have 6 or 7 weeks to bring their time down which is long enough if you commit to it.
 
The Ref Stop
Spartan league fitness test passed this morning despite struggling with the change in weather. Horribly damp after 10 days of dry heat made my asthma flare up terribly. Not a vintage performance because of that, but I got through.

Ultimately that’s what matters today even if I physically feel rubbish now.
Are you in for promotion or were you securing Div1 Middles or Prem Lines?
 
I've belatedly started training. Which isn't to say I haven't trained at all since COVID, it's just this is the first more focused training that I've done in a while.

My local league started recently, but I've made myself unavailable until next week as I'm nowhere near ready. I've already got a load of fixtures for August and September though.

Was on the Talent List during the COVID hit/abandoned season as my last promotion put me within touching distance of the top two tiers. But time has moved on so, I've not initially gone for promotion this season, but I'm told I may be on the talent list again this season so the option is there.

If I can get my fitness in check, then I might push for promotion, even if I don't actually get promoted, I think the experience of being on the talent list will aid me massively for 22/23. I think my fitness test is coming up pretty soonish, and will be the first that isn't on a running track.

At the end of the day though, given what has happened I think I'll take 21/22 as a more relaxed season. I've been pushing so hard for promotion previously (3 on the bounce, yay!) that I think I'd like to take my foot of the gas in some ways. No doubt, my attitude will change and I'll get more competitive on this once I get a few games under my belt!
 
I've done a couple of pre-season games, but the you know what gets real again as of tomorrow!
AR in a Central Midlands Premier game, then ref on Saturday in the same league - first time with ARs!
Any help or advice for the latter would be welcome - I did Division 1 games (solo) last season when going for 7-6 promotion.
Have also decided to go for 6-5 this time. Wish me luck!!!
 
Any help or advice for the latter would be welcome

Adjust your positioning so you generally keep one of them in view at all times.

A common mistake I see is referees taking up positions they do in grassroots when they're on their own. For example, on a corner kick, they'll go to the backpost on my side, and then suddenly I'm out of a job on that line, what do I do? And of course, that means now the referee has his back to me, so again, what can I do if I need to signal to him? And naturally, that now means the other side of the pitch is now completely uncovered, since the referee should be over there.

Little things like that. You'll be able to practice the diagonal a bit more than you usually do, and be able to step away a bit further when the action goes to your assistants. Keep your pre-match brief simple, consider discussing eye-contact and communication with the signalling, so you're not at cross-purposes, and are able to communicate nice and clearly. I personally would encourage them to get involved.

Always ask them for feedback in the changing rooms at half and full time, anything you might have missed - we're always bound to miss one offside flag in the early days! Anything they might want to raise and vice versa, I like to clear the air in the changing rooms and take the opportunity to learn etc. But most of all, enjoy being part of the team as you would if you were on the line, just you get a little bit more leadership responsibility this time. :D
 
Adjust your positioning so you generally keep one of them in view at all times.
This is the biggest, most simple key to running a diagonal. If you do this, it forces you to do a diagonal to keep the ball between you and the current lead AR--the one you are most likely to need to see for a flag.

It's easy to miss flags when you aren't used to it. I ask my ARs to call "flag" if I'm in verbal distance and am not noticing their flag--its not something that gets called on a soccer field normally, so it stands out.
 
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